***Official*** Asia Cup

the teams are divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, then the top two from each group battle it out in another round-robin format to decide the two finalists

i guess that Ind would have learned the lesson to not pack its side with too many batsmen from the experience in BD tri-series .... Dhoni has been winning most of the tournament so in a way it's good to have lost an irrelevant tri-series like the BD and learn some lessons out of it and more importantly not repeat them in the Asia Cup

Will Sreesanth be fit for the tournament? I'd certainly back him as a better ODI option than RP Singh. They're both pretty dire in that format at the moment but Sreesanth has shown improvement at times - RP's performances are actually getting worse after a pretty decent start. Totally opposite situation in Tests, though.

Recognition of Property Rights in material objects is the recognition of a manís right to exist; his right to pursue his own goals in his own manner at his own discretion with what is rightfully his to command. Just as the Right to Life is the right to the property of oneís own person, so the right to own material products is the right to sustain oneís life and to keep the results of oneís own efforts.

the teams are divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, then the top two from each group battle it out in another round-robin format to decide the two finalists

i guess that Ind would have learned the lesson to not pack its side with too many batsmen from the experience in BD tri-series .... Dhoni has been winning most of the tournament so in a way it's good to have lost an irrelevant tri-series like the BD and learn some lessons out of it and more importantly not repeat them in the Asia Cup

Agree with that team but would probably like to see Ojha get a game in somewhere, preferably when Chawla is also there. Teams are not used to facing two good (at least on potential) spinners in ODIs and sometimes it tends to get a bit suffocating against good spinners in the middle overs even for good batsmen. Inspite of the loss in the final, I still think the signs are very good from the Indian ODI side... so let's hope we win this one and continue our improvement.

We miss you, Fardin. :(. RIP.

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

In the end, I think it's so utterly, incomprehensibly boring. There is so much context behind each innings of cricket that dissecting statistics into these small samples is just worthless. No-one has ever been faced with the same situation in which they come out to bat as someone else. Ever.

Should we forget the Asia Cup and that silly tournament in Bangladesh ever happened? After all, there is so much cricket going on these days, the only ODI tournaments that matter are the World Cup and the Champions' Trophy, and possibly those events involving Australia.

Even if we don't ignore these events, should performances in Asia Cups be taken seriously? After all, there is this trend of not recognising performances by Asian players against other Asian teams, and only looking at what they do against other top teams.

"Talent is nothing without opportunity"
"You're not remembered for aiming at the target, but hitting it"

Sanath makes a comeback here, yet again. Let's just hope he retires before he runs out of steam, totally, like his counterparts across the strait. Then again, will he play as a full-time bowler for SL?

Should we forget the Asia Cup and that silly tournament in Bangladesh ever happened? After all, there is so much cricket going on these days, the only ODI tournaments that matter are the World Cup and the Champions' Trophy, and possibly those events involving Australia.

Even if we don't ignore these events, should performances in Asia Cups be taken seriously? After all, there is this trend of not recognising performances by Asian players against other Asian teams, and only looking at what they do against other top teams.

May be for indians its too much cricket, but remember outside india almost no one cares about IPL. I am in pakistan and heck i didn't watch IPL or ICL at all, no body cares here despite them having pakistani players. For us its not enough cricket. Pakistan hasn't played a major tournament in a while now. Playing for a country is the pride, not for some stupid league matches

Looking at the performance of the England team in a recent ODI against the Kiwis, there are a couple of points to take home from there. To begin with, Pietersen's innings was an example. We know Pietersen is famous for his huge (occasionally back-handed) hits, but more importantly, he had his focus on a big innings. He built partnerships- sizeable ones at that, and the contribution of his partners, few as they were, cannot be ignored. They tried to help him build those partnerships, without trying to be heroes to save their places in the XI. If one Indian (mostly Yuvraj) does that, they won't need to stack their team with seven batsmen trying to be heroes.

While the bowlers shared the wickets equally, the performance of Graeme Swann was noteworthy. He's no world-class spinner, but two wickets for 45 runs was definitely something of note. Likewise, the four wickets taken by Collingwood (albeit against the tail end) prove that a stock bowler can be very useful. The Indians have Yusuf Pathan, who can do just as well for them, if given a chance- and certainly a lot better than those mediocre part-timers. That is, if they don't go back to playing five bowlers again- which might be the best idea.

May be for indians its too much cricket, but remember outside india almost no one cares about IPL. I am in pakistan and heck i didn't watch IPL or ICL at all, no body cares here despite them having pakistani players. For us its not enough cricket. Pakistan hasn't played a major tournament in a while now. Playing for a country is the pride, not for some stupid league matches

This has nothing to do with the IPL. This is about the excessive volume of cricket played, particularly by the subcontinental teams. Surely some tournaments can be skipped, with the focus on the more important ones. You cut out those silly matches, and you'd get as many matches as New Zealand gets each season.

This has nothing to do with the IPL. This is about the excessive volume of cricket played, particularly by the subcontinental teams. Surely some tournaments can be skipped, with the focus on the more important ones. You cut out those silly matches, and you'd get as many matches as New Zealand gets each season.

but again what are you talking? this year hasn't seen any major international tournaments so far. I think Asia cup is the first big one.

the BD tri-series was irrelevant, not the Asia Cup .... Asia Cup has a long history and ranks amongst one of the better tournaments, probably 3rd after the WC and Champions Trophy

Yeah, I agree really. A lot of the long ODI segments of tours should be cut down a fair biy, but I don't mind the idea of this one. If anything, the overly large number of ODIs played in other tours is the main reason this tournament isn't more widely received.

Personally I think the Champions Trophy is pretty pointless; I actually wouldn't mind to see that killed off. It's basically just a World Cup no-one truly cares about - either let it die completely or let the World Cup legitimately be staged every two years.

I don't mind the Asia Cup though - decent concept. It makes the Kiptly Cup an utterly ridiculous tournament though, given the timing.